Killing the Mood
by Sophie-Lou
Summary: Originally titled Three Times Llacheu Killed the Mood  And One Time He Didn't  on LJ. Arthur and Gwen wouldn't give up parenthood for anything in the world...but it can be frustrating when you want to spend time alone. Contains scenes of a smutty nature.


**_Merlin _belongs to the good people at the BBC and Shine. Blesséd be the Licence Fee. Written for the Help Fight Depression Auction for robinmarian who requested an Arthur/Gwen smut fic in which their love making is interrupted several times by their child.**

* * *

><p>Children are a blessing, apparently. <em>Of all nature's gifts to the human race, what is sweeter to a man than his children?<em>

Cicero.

He had a good point too. A parent's love for their child is unfathomable to anything else. It is undoubtedly the purest of all loves. It buried into every mother and father's nature, their souls and their very minds. After all, what is a child but a part of them? Children are an extension of their true love, which makes a child all the more precious and beloved. Each one is one half of another human being. Whether they fail or succeed, whether they are sweet or cruel, it can usually be traced back their mother and father.

So every parent will bend over backwards for the sake of that child. A true parent would sacrifice anything and everything to ensure that expansion of their humanity is kept safe and secure.

This was how the King and Queen of Camelot loved their newborn son, Llacheu.

Yet while this little imp of delight was undoubtedly the sweetest gift nature ever blessed Arthur and Guinevere with, they very quickly began to realise that he also impeached on the other sweet gifts from nature they had previously enjoyed, uninterrupted.

* * *

><p>1.<p>

Gwen shivered as ran Arthur's hand softly and smoothly down her stomach.

It had been a while since she had felt that without there being a large bump for his palm to climb and descend. Previously these caresses had been more for their unborn child's benefit than hers. Arthur would happily lie beside Gwen for hours, feeling the churning of their son's tiny fists and feet as he alerted them to his being there. Gwen had found her husband's adoration for the bump enchanting, and while he would lie for hours whispering and stroking her bump, she would blissfully lie for hours just watching him do it.

Her eyes fluttered closed. These caresses had a completely different purpose as they travelled further and further down her torso. Her stomach quivered with anticipation as Arthur's fingers lingered at her naval.

"Feeling better now?" he whispered huskily.

Gwen opened her eyes and smiled, "Much better, thank you."

The last six weeks since Llacheu was born had been surprisingly tiring despite the fact that, being a queen, Gwen had five nurses to help her look after her newborn son. She had actually been fighting with most of them to feed Llacheu herself rather than let the wet nurse do it. The argument most of them gave was that, _being a queen_, Gwen should not have to breastfeed her baby when she was in such a delicate condition.

"The first birth is always hard," she gasped to Arthur as his hand slowly slipped under her nightdress to stroke the inside of her thigh. They trembled at his touch. "Getting back to normal has been difficult..."

Her breasts were still sore from lactation and her body was still trying to recover. But this was the first time she had felt aroused in months. In the last weeks of her pregnancy she had never felt so dumpy and graceless. Ironically getting Arthur off with her hands or her mouth made her feel a little better. It made her feel desired; not least because he always tried to reach under her skirts afterwards to pleasure her, but she hadn't been in the mood for that then.

She was now.

Arthur softly pressed his lips against Gwen's. They kissed slowly, deeply. As they did so he adjusted himself over her, being careful to not put pressure on her chest and instead hovering over her by placing his arms to either side of her body. It was nice to be so close him after so long. For the last six months Gwen couldn't use her curves to seep into Arthur's sinew; there was a growing baby in the way. Not anymore, though.

He broke the kiss.

"So you're definitely feeling better?" he asked.

Arthur brushed his thumb against her numb, causing a glimmer of heat to shot through Gwen's body. She smirked up at him, "Much, _much_better."

She pulled his head back down to kiss him again, this time choosing to add more firm passion to get across her desire better. He was terribly concerned at the moment with hurting her, just as he had been during her pregnancy with. When she had reached about four months her sexual appetite had been hungrier than it had been for a long time, and she had usually been quite vivacious with getting Arthur into bed. "You might hurt yourself," he warned as she straddled him immediately after he had finished training with the knights. She would always be watching him; the sight of his body outlined through his drenched, white shirt in the heat of high summer had worked her up to the point of madness. The feeling of his cock hitting that tender spot inside her body had been all she craved. She had craved it more than honey and eggs – an odd little appetiser she had become obsessed with eating during her pregnancy.

Yet after the exhaustion of giving birth to Llacheu, Gwen had wondered whether she would ever want to have sex again. Not least because it was sex that created Llacheu – and thus the pain of delivery – in the first place. The birth had been easy without any difficulties but that previous libido Gwen had enjoyed seemed to flitter further and further away as she held the brand new baby in her arms.

Pregnancy had sent her desires and emotions on such a strange loop.

Gwen felt his growing arousal press up against her thigh. It felt like forever since she had a moment like this and she had missed it.

She smiled into their brief, passionate kisses as she slowly began to reach to undo his breeches. He groaned against her mouth; the touch of her fingers against the front of his trousers was a sweet longed-for privilege since Llacheu was born. The simple gesture served to arouse him even more as he thought of her hands, her mouth, her soft, yielding body...

It simply wasn't the same when he had to pleasure himself.

"_Guinevere_," Arthur growled semi-consciously.

"_Arthur_," Gwen said teasingly, mimicking his indulgent groan. She wiggled her eyebrows at him light-heartedly and giggled at his heavy, hazy expression.

They resumed their kiss as Gwen pushed her own legs apart, inviting her husband to slip himself between them while he was still half-conscious of doing her damage. The midwife had told Gwen that she could resume marital relations with the king when _she_ felt she was ready. The dampness running to the top of her inner-thigh was every indication to Arthur that she was indeed _ready_.

Gwen pulled his trousers off, releasing his erection from its prison. The feeling of it bare and warm against her body made her sigh in delight. "I've missed it," she confided earnestly to Arthur in a gasp of air. He chuckled, "It did too." He shifted gently so the head brushed gently against the core. _God, it had been so long!_

One movement and he would be inside her...

A shallow weeping rose up from the nursery next door. Then it was a loud and piercing wail. Llacheu had just woken up for his late-night feeding. And he was demanding it, _immediately_.

Arthur swore under his breath while Gwen groaned in frustration, not satisfaction she had hoped. She knew she had to get up now to feed Llacheu else the wet nurse would, and Gwen was determined to win the battle of breastfeeding her own baby. It was only due to the fact that the plump wet nurse was a friend of Gwen's that she didn't dismiss her.

Plus, Gaius had assured Gwen that breastfeeding was an ideal way to prevent pregnancy. Therefore she was _definitely_going to do it.

The king reluctantly moved off the queen to allow her to tend to the prince. "Go on," he muttered. "We can't leave him crying."

Gwen slipped out of bed.

"Are you alright?" she asked, heading towards the adjacent door.

Arthur sat up in bed and sighed, taking hold of his length with his own hand. "I'll be fine," he said, trying to conceal his disappointment.

Gwen sighed in equal disappointed and went next door to wrench her baby son from the arms of the plump nurse. The other nurses also protested that the queen should sleep – completely oblivious to the fact that the queen was thinking of anything other than sleeping – but Gwen insisting on breastfeeding her son.

She sat in silence holding Llacheu to her bosom as he greedily suckled her sweet milk as the nurses all stood around watching. She just blocked them out and concentrated on her baby. "There you go, my greedy little piglet," Gwen cooed, holding his tiny fist between her fingers. _Oh, she loved him so much..._

The door to the royal bedchamber opened and Arthur came through, shirtless and apparently recovered from his earlier impediment. Gwen felt a tang of guilt when she saw him. They had waited quite a while – and now they were probably going to have to wait until tomorrow. It was getting late now and they were due to meet with ambassadors from one of the northern countries tomorrow morning.

"Ladies," Arthur addressed the nurses politely. They were all a bit of a flutter seeing the king bare-chested so late at night. It was especially amusing for him because they were all middle-aged except for the wet nurse who was thirty-six. "I would like to speak to the queen alone."

Gwen smiled to the group of women, "Off you go!"

The nurses awkwardly left the room. Once they were alone Arthur leaned against the door frame and regarded his wife and son. "I suppose I have to get used to it."

"What's that?" Gwen asked, stroking Llacheu's head.

"Sharing you with another man," Arthur replied.

She chuckled, "I suppose you will."

Arthur sat beside her. He reached over to stroke Llacheu's fine, light-ish coloured hair – so fine he still looked bald – and leaned his own head against Gwen's shoulder. They were a picture he wished to preserve in his mind. A mother and a child, his wife and son, a sight he was grateful for. A sight his own father was never able to see himself.

"I love you," the king muttered into the queen's light nightdress.

Llacheu finished feeding and Gwen held him over her shoulder to burp him. She winked to Arthur as she did so, "We love you too."

* * *

><p>2.<p>

Arthur tugged Gwen behind a tree at the edge of the wooded area surrounding the castle. Behind it they were shielded from public view.

It was a beautiful summer day. They had stolen away from a court picnic taking place on the green nearby. The knights, their ladies and the children of the court – including ten-month-old Llacheu with his nurses – were all there. Thankfully they were all distracted by a puppet show being put on for the children's entertainment, allowing the king and queen to sneak away.

He pushed her up against the hard trunk of the tree, hungrily kissing her neck. She instinctively closed her eyes in order to take in the feeling of his warm lips leaving a trail across her neck and collarbone.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" she whispered breathlessly, glancing over her shoulder. "The court members are literally just over there."

Arthur ignored her. Instead of giving a verbal reply he slowly began to lift his knee up between her legs. Gwen was wearing a light cotton dress for the summer, so reaching a sensitive point by pushing his leg between her thighs was very easy. Not like in the winter and they went hunting; reaching under the layers of her warm black and red dress had been as tricky as peeling a grape.

He gently rubbed his knee against the numb beneath her equally light underwear. It made the queen gasp with an amused, approving beam. So he did it again, and again, and again until he found a rhythm for it. Arthur knew the right pace to tease Gwen with.

She placed her hands on either side of his face and pushed her forehead against his as he massaged her slowly but constantly. She could feel herself coming off, little by little. Tiny little bleats of pleasure were followed by slightly longer ones. The best thing about Arthur doing it to her was that he could keep the pace up.

Yet doing it outside with the rest of court just a hundred yards away and only a tree to mask them, Gwen felt dangerously exposed. She was not an exhibitionist by nature.

She hastily kissed random parts of Arthur's face, the parts she could reach with this close distance between them, and held herself fast to him as she whispered her fears under her breath and into his ear. Not once did he stop the movement of his leg.

"Arthur," she said quietly. "People are going to see."

"I know," he muttered back, still continuing.

It was like torture albeit congenial kind of torture. All Gwen could think about was the throbbing feeling it was fanning inside her body, one that only intercourse could reach. She swallowed anxiously, wondering what would be best to do.

Arthur could see those thoughts churning in her head. It made him feel powerful. Yet as her arousal grew with every movement he made – and it was showing itself in more ways than one – he felt his own desire for her grow. It always did.

He kissed her haphazardly on her eyelid, cheek and lips.

Gwen couldn't take it anymore.

"Let's go further into the woods," she hissed, almost like a command. A part of her worried that she wouldn't be able to walk or run further into the forest without killing some of the heat Arthur had built up between her legs. But she knew they couldn't stay here.

Arthur breathed in so deep and huskily that his growl sounded more animal than human. He slowly began to remove his leg from between Gwen's legs...

"Your majesties?" came a lone voice.

The king and queen yanked away from each other. They wiped their faces of the kisses they had exchanged and tried to bring themselves around from their sexual frustration. Arthur forced himself to put a three foot distance between the two of them while Gwen felt her own desire slowly ebb away from her until it was gone.

Angered, she turned to face the eavesdropper.

Her anger melted away immediately when she saw it was the nursemaid holding Llacheu. He looked red with frustration, ruining his usually beautiful swarthy complexion, and he was pulling an extremely sour face.

"What's wrong with _you_?" Gwen said, trying to mask her previous mood with a soft touch. She did it rather well, although not so well as to stop the nursemaid's blushes. Gwen took Llacheu from her to comfort him. "What's wrong with little grumpy face, eh?" she cooed with a smile, and she looked to Arthur.

He too forced a recovery and smiled paternally.

"Come on, Llacheu," Arthur said in a much more amusing voice than Gwen could muster. "Why so grouchy?"

Gwen looked over to the nursemaid. "What happened?"

"I think he was frightened of the dragon puppet and the crashing symbols," the nursemaid explained. "The nurses and I tried to comfort him but he just kept crying for you both."

"Dada," Llacheu gurgled, reaching his plumb fists out for Arthur. When the father pulled an amusing face back, the baby giggled and grasped for him even more. "Dada, dada, _dadadadadada..._"

Gwen held Llacheu firmly on her hip. He was getting heavy.

"Did you want daddy to slay the nasty dragon, piglet?" she asked softly.

The little child covered her mouth with his hands and churned, "Ma, ma, ma-ma?"

"Dada slay the dragon?" she asked again in more basic language.

_"Da-gon?"_

"_Dra_gon," Arthur pronounced with emphasis and a grin. "That's it."

The nursemaid just watched the royal couple cheer up their son and tried to not to stare at the disorder (and invisibility) of the queen's white gown.

* * *

><p>3.<p>

Although it was late at night and the bedroom was lit only by the dim light of the moon painting the night sky navy blue, Arthur didn't have to see to enjoy the actions of his wife. He had made it an early night as he had been training the knights all day and needed the sleep. It was now close to three in the morning and he had awakened to the faint sight of his wife looming over him, scarcely clad and smiling expectantly.

Like many men Arthur usually felt oddly aroused first thing in the morning, whether Gwen was perched atop him or not, but the feeling of her weight on his abdomen really worked him up quite quickly.

Then she began to kiss him, slowly. Arthur closed his eyes in order to take in the whole thing as it was delightfully drawn out. First it was his lips, then around his jaw-line, neck, collarbone, chest, ribs and then down, down and _further down_, leaving a silky trail right down his body and right towards his...

Gwen suddenly stopped and sat up.

Arthur opened his eyes, annoyed. He wondered if he had been dreaming all along, because if the latter were true it was seriously unfair of his subconscious to do. But he was very much awake.

"You're not bored, are you?" Gwen asked.

He stared at her, "Why on earth would you say that?"

"You've not made a sound since you woke up."

Arthur smirked, "Doesn't mean I'm not enjoying myself. I suppose you'd prefer it if every time you touched me I groaned so loud that I woke up the whole castle."

Gwen chuckled.

"It would certainly get the courtiers talking," she agreed.

Frankly everything the king and queen did, or were rumoured to have done, got the courtiers talking in a disapproving way. Gwen's ladies-in-waiting gave her an interesting insight into the way the nobility saw marriage and sex, and it made her glad that – if these thoughts had ever been in Arthur's mind – she had dragged him down to 'her level'. Probably the most interesting thing the ladies told her was that it was inappropriate to top a man during love making and that a woman's position was _always_on her back.

Gwen thought that was silly. She didn't mind being on her back, but liked being on her side, stomach, standing up, sitting down and, indeed, on top. Her being on top was more practical too. It was worth remembering that Arthur lived a very active life, not content to sit inside and oversee council meetings. At the end of a long day he could be in two separate moods; invigorated or exhausted, and even if it was the latter it didn't always mean that his arousal was eradicated. So in those situations Gwen felt it only right that she take the dominant position.

Like right now.

Arthur cupped Gwen's face; she could just make out his smile in the dark.

"I'm sorry I've been working so much," he whispered. "I've felt like I've hardly seen you or Llacheu the last few days."

Gwen tilted her head, "That's because you haven't."

He cringed a little.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't ever be sorry for doing your duty," Gwen assured him, placing one hand on his heart. "It's part of the reason why I love you."

They leaned together and kissed gently. Then she began to trace her kisses down his body again, this time not stopping at the pubis. Her head then disappeared under the bed sheets. Arthur leant his head back again. He breathed heavily with anticipation.

Gwen took him into her mouth.

His eyes snapped shut. She gently caressed the head of his cock before locking her tongue around and slowly working her way towards the base, and back again.

A hoarse groan caught itself in Arthur's throat and he gritted his teeth together to stop it from erupting from his mouth in the form of a loud, lusty cry. It was very early in the morning, after all. The gossip at court didn't need to be fanned any more than it already was.

Then she took him _far_ into her mouth and began to suck. His hips rolled slightly against her. _Dear God, was that her throat?_

His fist clasped at her hair, helping her find a steady pace.

He muttered her name deliriously, matching every syllable to every moment she made against her body...

"Mummy!" wailed a tiny, high-pitched voice.

Arthur's eyes shot open and he sat up with a start, nearly choking Gwen in the process. She coughed rather unattractively under the bed covers before she re-emerged from her failed job. He could not help but chuckle at the sight of her as the thin, white sheet rested over the top of his wife's head like a virgin's veil.

It was so wonderfully inapt!

"Mummy!"

Gwen saw Llacheu waddling towards the tall bed, somehow still managing to find his way in the dark. At nearly three-years-old he had finally reached that age when he would no longer stay in the cot and would wake up at the most ungodly hours to get Daddy to play with him or Mummy to read to him, usually the former. Arthur didn't mind although it didn't help for him to feel tired while training the knights.

But this was different. Llacheu seemed genuinely distressed.

Arthur and Gwen quickly straightened themselves out – and as usual it took Arthur just a _little_longer to 'fix' himself than it did Gwen – as Llacheu approached the bed and held out his arms to be lifted up.

The mother took up her child and pulled him towards her. He burrowed his head against her chest. "What's wrong, little piglet?"

"I had a _nightmare_," he whimpered.

"Aw," Gwen spoke softly, kissing the top of his head. "What happened?"

"There was a bear under by bed, and it wanted to eat me."

Arthur had spent the last minute pulling his trousers back up and was now able to turn his attention back to his son. He slowly took Llacheu from Gwen's arms to put his arm around him himself. "Don't worry about, son," he said confidently. "A bear would never be able to fit under your bed."

Llacheu leaned his head against his father's chest now.

"I'm scared," he said softly.

A warm jolt shot through Arthur's heart. It helped him to put aside his lack of sexual gratification. This little child so utterly adored and looked up to him. It made Arthur feel very special although he knew all children thought of the world of their fathers, even if there was little to admire once they grew up and knew better.

"Come on," Gwen said, softly taking Llacheu's chin and smiling. "Let's all go to sleep."

"Can I stay here?" Llacheu asked.

Arthur smiled and laid his head down, allowing his son to take the space between him and Gwen. "Of course you can."

* * *

><p>4.<p>

Llacheu sat on the heap of hay, grabbing large chunks of it and piling it on high in front of him. He decided as he did so that he liked hay better than grass or straw, although his reasons for feeling this way would have confused his father who was surveying the work done on the new stables which had been built to accommodate their ever-growing army horses. A whole herd was on their way down from a northern land this weekend.

"He seems to be enjoying himself."

Arthur turned to see Gwen standing at the door flanked by Llacheu's nurse and nursemaid. She was dress casually in a light blue dress and her hair was completely loose. It was just a lazy day at the beginning of August, the time where nothing was happening and even the royal family could walk around in their thinnest and least dressy clothes. Arthur himself had chosen to wear a white shirt and loose slacks.

He looked over to their son.

"Llacheu finds the simplest things interesting," Arthur said, watching as the child piled up hay in front of him. The king tilted his head and sighed, "I wonder if I should be concerned."

Gwen smirked and patted her little boy's head affectionately. Llacheu broke free from the hay's spell to smile up at his mother.

"You look very pretty, mama," he said.

Her smile widened.

"Thank you, my little piglet," she said teasingly, and tapped his nose jokily. Llacheu giggled sweetly. Gwen took his tiny hand to get him to stand up.

As the queen picked pieces of hay out of her son's light-brown hair, he fired one of his many questions at her. He did that a lot at the moment, making numerous – and at times awkward – queries.

"Mama," Llacheu began. "You know how Gareth's parents recently got baby Clarissant?"

Gwen nodded; Gareth's parents were Leon and his wife. She was one of Gwen's ladies-in-waiting and had recently given birth to a daughter, Clarissant. Gareth was just a few weeks younger than Llacheu was. The two of them were playmates.

Llacheu smiled innocently. "Can I have a sister too?"

The two nurses blushed as Arthur chocked back a laugh, eyeing his wife with amusement and wondered what her reply would be. Other children were certainly on the cards but... it was rather a forward question to be asking in front of the servants. Not that Llacheu was to know that.

Gwen cupped his chin.

"We'll see," she said, and walked him over to his nurses. "I think it's time you went inside."

Llacheu groaned, "Do I have to?"

"I'm afraid so," Gwen sighed, mimicking her son's disappointed tone. "It's nearly time for your afternoon nap. You know what you're like when you don't have your afternoon nap."

"Cranky?"

"That's right," the queen nodded, handing over the child's hand to the nurses. She looked to the two women and gave her regal order, "Make sure he has a cup of water with him. I don't want him waking up thirsty in this heat."

The two women bowed respectfully and led the little prince out. Just shy of four and he was already a beloved character at court. He was always under the watchful eye of his parents, his nurses, the knights or Merlin but pretty much had free run of the castle. When he wasn't sleeping, eating or playing in the nursery, Llacheu liked nothing more than to wander around to many rooms of the castle exploring.

"He gets that from you," Gwen told Arthur once they were gone.

"No, he doesn't," the king muttered under his breath. "I preferred being an only child to ever having a sister."

Gwen smirked, "No offence, Arthur, but if you and I ever had a daughter I would hope that she would take after my family, or your mother's – _not_the Pendragons."

She then looked down at the hay beneath her feet.

"That's not what I meant anyway."

"Oh?" Arthur asked, hands on his hips and smirking, "So you were referring to Llacheu's charm and good-looks?"

He could tell that Gwen was primed to tease him too. It was still a pass time they enjoyed even after five years of marriage.

"His adventurous curiosity," the queen corrected him.

Arthur took a step forward, "And the charm?"

Gwen fluttered her eyes flirtatiously and shook her head. "Heaven knows where he got that from."

He took her by the elbows and pulled her closer to him. His self-assured expression matched hers perfectly. "True," he agreed with her. "Sometimes I wonder if the stork dropped the wrong baby down our chimney."

Gwen smiled brazenly up at him.

"I can assure you that Llacheu definitely was _not_brought to us by a large bird."

He hissed in consideration, "Definitely not a bird, no."

She raised an eyebrow. Gently, she leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on his lips. It was an agreeable award for their sweet nuptial banter. It was rendered all the more pleasant for Arthur when Gwen made sure to press her breasts against his chest.

Carefully Gwen pulled her mouth away from his and looked up at him through hazy eyes. "Aren't you flattering yourself a bit?"

Arthur cocked his head to one side, his smug smirk returning to his lips.

"There must be something about me that keeps you here," he said huskily. "And if it's not my charm..."

He clutched her pelvis and sharply pulled them against his own. It made Gwen laugh out aloud. She finished his sentence, "...it must be your _prospect_?"

"Well," Arthur whispered, slowly lowering his face to leave kisses all along Gwen's neck. She closed her eyes as he spoke, "it's not my personality, is it?"

He nibbled very gently at her shoulder, carefully pushing the thin material aside.

"I like your personality," Gwen muttered slowly, taking it all in.

"Even though I'm devoid of charm?"

He deepened the kiss to match what was swiftly becoming noticeable desire poking Gwen in the abdomen.

Her gasp broke the kiss yet again.

"Arthur..." Gwen said slowly, a tad sceptical that this was the time or place. She glanced down between them. "We're outside."

"We're in a stable," he corrected.

"There are squires wandering around," she added, a little more concerned as he grinded his body against hers, holding her tight against her weak attempt at pulling away and being sensible. Gwen bit her lips, still staring at his erection, "They might... see us."

Arthur smirked wickedly.

"Obviously we'll close the door..."

* * *

><p>Efa carefully placed the cup of water beside Llacheu's bed while he pretended to sleep.<p>

He had already decided as she and the nursemaid Tegan walked him back to the nursery for his nap that he would wait until the two of them left and then he would go outside and play again. It was so very naughty and Mama would be _furious_if she caught him.

Maybe she would lock him in his room? It was a risk Llacheu had to take. He was too young to think of the risks anyway. All he could think about was that summer sun, the sweet smell of fresh grass, the rustling sound of hay, the clean-cut feel on the new stable as yet untouched by human or animal...

It was all exciting to his tiny mind and the thought of it energized him so much that he couldn't feel sleepy. He just wanted to go out and explore the world around him.

Llacheu had been fairly sheltered during his first three years and still was to an extent. He had free run of the castle because he was never that far away from a patrolling guard, a busy knight or a mass of servants working. If he got into trouble, there was always someone to keep an eye on him.

Outside was different, outside Llacheu _always_had to have someone with him. Arthur was thinking of having a wall built around the royal grounds to ensure that no 'undesirables' came into contact with his son or anyone he might be with, which was usually his nurses and or the queen.

But the outside didn't frighten Llacheu, nor did the prospect of him running into any 'undesirables'.

"How is he?" Tegan whispered.

Efa slowly crossed the room to close the curtains. Her eyes were pinned on Llacheu's flickering eyes; she knew he wasn't asleep yet. She hadn't been a nurse all these years not to pick up when a child was trying to pull a fast one.

"Asleep," she lied.

They left the room.

Llacheu was craftier than most children nearing their fourth birthday. He waited a few seconds after the door closed to sit slip out of bed. He didn't really think about it after that. He wasn't _that_crafty. The servant's sitting room next door might as well have been another dimension as far as Llacheu was concerned.

His tiny feet touched the cold stone floor.

He didn't know how to tie his boots yet. Mama, Father or Efa always did that for him. Llacheu preferred to walk barefoot, though. In all his picture books that were read to him at bed time the heroes who lived deep in the forest walked barefoot. He wanted to be just like them.

The coldness of the palace stone even on a hot day was another wonder the little child appreciated more than any adult he knew.

Slowly he wandered towards the door, the one that led into the main nursery where Llacheu would eat his dinner and play. From the other side of that was his parents' chambers, through which there was a door to the main corridor and another through which the servants came and went. He usually used that one when wandering around the castle because otherwise he guards would start following him.

Llacheu left his room and slowly crossed the nursery, not letting himself be tempted to stop and play although the sight of his wooden sword made him want to briefly.

Then he thought, 'I'll take it with me.'

He slowly picked it up and wandered into his parents' room. Rather trustingly the doors were all unlocked to enable easy access for both the royal family and those who served them. Ideally these doors should be locked so Llacheu couldn't do exactly this. Wander.

Llacheu strained to open up the small servants' door at the side of the room...

* * *

><p>Gwen watched as Arthur closed the stable doors.<p>

She could feel her breath starting to quicken, taking in the hot air of the stuffy new barn. Her body was already yielding; her loins were literally jerking and tugging. There was something undeniably sexy about the showiness with which her husband closed the door, despite the fact that two squires were wandering past and had caught a glimpse of their monarchs just as the wooden door clocked shut.

It almost felt as if they were exhibiting themselves to gossip.

Gwen stared across at him as she felt the familiar tiny throbs of desire circulate her body. As anyone could expect Arthur wore a pleased smirk on his face, so assured of the fact that within a few minutes he would be having his queen right here and now.

She knew his assumption was right; she could already feel the wetness developing between her legs. Nonetheless, as a queen, she felt it was her duty to challenge this rather adventurous plan.

"Arthur..." Gwen said cautiously, unable to fight back a smile to match the one he was wearing. "I know what you're thinking."

"Good," he said teasingly, slowly advancing towards her.

His expression was to die for, so soft and _damned_alluring. Gwen felt as if she might just melt into the ground that very second. After many years of bedroom bliss this rather basic form of seduction, the act of basically shagging her with his eyes, a part of her felt it should have lost its effect by now. But it never did.

She chuckled nervously, "Is this the _best_way for a king to behave?"

Arthur tilted his head, "Can't a king make love to his queen without it being deemed improper?"

The aforementioned queen bit her lip, trying to stifle an immature giggle at the way he used the words 'make love'. It seemed odd coming from Arthur's lips; the same lips that barked orders to the knights and dictated the running of the kingdom to his privy council. Still this whole thing was a little... _odd_. After all, making in love in a barn?

The hay would get everywhere.

"Arthur..." she said cautiously. "We're in a barn."

"Stable," Arthur corrected, as if that was the defining factor.

He pulled her close to him. Pure glee shot through her again as he felt the distinct hardness she knew so well poke her in the stomach. Instinctively, she wet her lips.

"We might get caught," she said, this time with all seriousness.

Gwen imagined how undignified it would be for her and Arthur to be caught by someone while in the midst of what was, of course, their most intimate moment.

Yet she could not deny a spark of eagerness came with that fear of embarrassment. The thought of everyone knowing just how _close_she and Arthur were – he the most desired and loved man in the land, and she the most admired and envied woman – made her feel a little... smug. Not all kings and queens enjoyed the level of pleasure they did in their private life. Most of them struggled to even procreate, let alone recreate.

As if he had read her mind, Arthur's hands gently ran from her elbows to her waist all the way down to her backside. He winked arrogantly, which both infuriated and enraptured her, and said, "I know – it's exciting, isn't it?"

Indeed it was.

Without a second thought Gwen threw her arms around his neck and began kissing him. It firm, hungry and eagerly egging him on to do what he had clearly set out to do the moment she walked in. He eagerly backed her slowly towards the barn—or stable, he was already forgetting—wall.

The stable was hot in the summer weather and the little white glimmers of sunlight drew fast-running white lines across Gwen's skin. But he barely registered either the humidity or the light as he closed his eyes and focused on the flaming feel of her lips and the scolding surge developing in his stomach.

He uttered her name in such delight. _"Guinevere,"_ always saying it as if it would be the last time. She too whispered his name, in a more sultry tone, _"Arthur..._"

They hit the wall with a large thud.

_God, it has to be now—Now!_

Arthur hoisted Gwen up in one rapid movement. A tiny _'Oh!'_escaped her lips. It was not in surprise; they had had plenty of practice so Gwen's legs impulsively wrapped themselves around his waist. It was the momentum with which he did it. It was fast, confident... almost graceful.

It felt unbelievably sexy.

He pressed her frame firmly against the wall as he reached desperately free himself from his britches. They had felt hot in the summer sun anyway but now they made him feel utterly trapped.

Gwen shifted a little to reach down and help him. He grunted as they tried to undo the flies and hold her up at the same time. Everything felt just that little bit hotter as her thighs squeezed him firmly.

Between them they fumbled about until his cock was finally from its prison.

She ran her fingers against his length, a practise she always liked to do whenever it was presented to her, standing tall and hard for her. It made Arthur pushed his body gently against hers, pushing her further up the wall.

Arthur reached under her skirts to remove her underwear. He traced the fine outline of her cloth, which rested just above her thighs. Without thinking, he wrapped his fingers around the white cloth and ripped it away from between her legs, leaving her modesty exposed to the callousness of his fingers. The sound of ripping material tore through Gwen's ears, but she had little more than a microsecond to think about it as Arthur gently brushed his fingertips against her clit.

He easily slipped two fingers inside her.

"Ah!" Gwen cried out, hitting her head against the stable wall.

Arthur smirked as he caressed the walls of her inside, immediately being reminded of the times she had hit her head against their headboard. It was just a silly thing in the midst of passion. His smirk disappeared however when Gwen remembered what she was holding in her left hand and gently squeezed it.

"Ah!" he mumbled wetly into her shoulder.

It was then they both decided the foreplay was over; she was ready, he was ready. They were just prolonging the inevitable and shortening the pay-off.

Arthur pressed Gwen's thighs as far apart as he could and, with one swift moment, pushed himself into her. She was once again shoved _hard_into the stable wall, this time by the long, confident thrust of the king's member deep inside her body.

She gave a small cry as he did so. It almost sounded like a squeak, and it was a noise Arthur was used to. The sound of it here, once again, made him grin with satisfaction as did the feeling of her body tighten around him.

He pushed into her again.

"Oh yes," Arthur grunted under his breath, clutching her thighs tight with both his hands as he withdrew and pushed a third time. He was gripped by how slick, how smooth she felt. He made a fourth thrust, then a fifth and a sixth. Each movement he made, she cooed pleasantly at and gently moved her own body against his, heightening the pleasure just that little bit more. _"Oh God—God..."_

* * *

><p>As Llacheu opened the door he was confronted by dreaded <em>grown-ups<em>. Not just Efa, oh no! She had brought in some back to help her round up the feisty little prince.

The pint-sized child looked up at the tall man dressed in modest, green robes.

He grinned, "Afternoon, Llacheu."

The prince guiltily looked down.

"Hello, Merlin."

Efa shook her head but smiled kindly on her young charge. "I knew you weren't really asleep, you little monster," she teased him gently. "You know that your Mama _insists_that you have your afternoon nap, don't you?"

He nodded slowly, "Yes, Efa."

"Efa would get in trouble with your parents if you snuck out," Merlin added to force home the light scolding. Deep down he knew he should be firmer, but whenever he saw those darkest blue eyes staring up at him, Merlin found he couldn't stay angry at Llacheu. He went on, "And what if something bad happened to you? Your parents would be devastated."

Llacheu looked up, biting both his lips.

"I'm sorry," he said with forced sincerity that all children did when they apologised. Each one of them was more sorry to have been caught being naughty than actually disobeying the 'grown-up's' word. "I just wanted to go out to the new stables and play some more."

Merlin tilted his head, "Why would you want to go to the new stables? The horses aren't even here yet."

"I like to make-believe a cave," Llacheu replied with a smile. "Or a house, or—or—lots of stuff!"

The warlock smiled; he found it endearing how Llacheu seemed to find pleasure out of anything. It made him wish he had children of his own... but he doubted that would ever happen.

He sighed and took Llacheu's hand, "Back to bed with you, wart. I promise if you have your afternoon nap, I will take you out myself to see a _real_cave."

The little boy's eyes lit up like candles. "You promise?"

"You have my word."

* * *

><p>With each thrust Gwen's back slammed roughly but painlessly against the wood of the stable wall, shaking the building. Bang, bang, bang... every half a second. As her husband pounded into her, Gwen threw her head back and hit the wall, again.<p>

Arthur chuckled, causing the vibrations to surge straight through Gwen's body. It felt so good to have him there inside her at that moment, hitting just the right spot... that she could forgive him laughing at her as her head knock twice more against the wall.

"People—are going to know—what we're doing," Gwen warned breathlessly. The rush of pleasure was starting to take complete control.

"Voyeuristic fools!" Arthur announced, breathless. "I am the—king. If I—want—to—have my queen—in my—own—stable—_I will!_"

He panted hurriedly.

He had moved from simply pushing to rolling his hips, having reached the spot inside her that made her ride blissfully to an orgasm. He maintained his quick pace, spurred on by Gwen's quick, sharp breaths.

"Are you—alright?" Arthur suddenly asked, seeking approval.

Gwen just nodded rapidly. She clutched her nails into his shoulder and closed her eyes tightly to take in his every movement, as if each roll was truly bringing her closer to heaven.

In that moment Arthur could feel his body starting to cavort uncontrollably. He knew he could not hold back much longer. He growled at his growing loss of self-control.

"Guinevere I—" Arthur began, almost guiltily "I can't stop—I'm going to—"

She opened her eyes.

Gwen placed several haphazardly placed kisses across his face, comforting him in his convolution. "It's alright," she assured his softly. "I'm nearly there—don't hold back—"

On her say so, Arthur completely let himself go. He buried his face into Gwen's shoulder, backed her fast against the wall and pumped manically into her body. Each time he did he muttered incoherently, dampening the material of her dress as he did. But she didn't mind.

Gwen buried her own face into his neck and grasped at his nape as he hit her spot over, and over, and over again. Each time he moved the growing sensations inside her flared up. Even her shoes were knocked off her feet, landing on the hay with two delicate rustles...

"Come on," Arthur kept muttering.

He could feel himself coming loose... but thankfully so was Gwen too. He could feel it in the growing limpness of her body, the weakness of her own disjointed pelvic thrusts, and the steady growing sound of her screams. He was desperate for her to finish first, so he pushed harder and harder _and harder..._

Gwen screeched three times, each one louder and closer to coming than the last. Then, finally, and to Arthur's great relief, she came _crashing_to her climax with one last cry. He released less than a second later, spurred on by her final fulfilment. He growled with gratification as his seed spilled richly inside her.

Then they fell silent.

As they panted their way through the aftershocks, with his last ounce of strength for the moment, Arthur lay Gwen down on the pile of hay before collapsing beside her in one loud swoosh.

She immediately propped herself over him, wiping his brow dry with her palm. He lay with his eyes closed, enjoying in his wife's post-coital caresses. A small smile crept up across his face.

"You always look like a cat that's got the cream afterwards," Gwen noted after watching him for a few moments.

He opened his eyes, "And very _delicious_cream it was too."

She swatted him playfully.

"That's enough of that," Gwen said, pulling herself up to readjust her dress and find where Arthur had dropped her underwear. It was a torn as it had sounded earlier; they were more like singles rather than a pair. "It's been a long time since you've torn clothes off me."

Arthur jumped up to redo his trousers again. "I can't remember ever having ripped off your underwear before, and I've always had the greatest respect for your dresses."

They were all so beautiful and refined, like a delicious wrapping that was to be peeled rather than torn off to truly enjoy the gifts that lay beneath.

Gwen reached up to tap his nose.

"Remember when you were away for _four months_with all the knights fighting that battle on the northern borders against Odin's army?" she reminded him, gently running her hands over his chest. The white material of his shirt was visibly soaked from the labour of their activities.

Arthur finally remembered.

"Oh yes," he nodded in amusement. "I remember – well – vaguely. I was a little bit pre-occupied and I didn't really... think about it."

"You ripped my favourite pink and cream dress that I had worn specially _right off me_," Gwen complained, although she didn't mind anymore now than she did at the time. She had been preoccupied too. "By the end of the night it had been broken into two."

She held up the light cotton in her hands.

"Just like you have with these!"

He wrapped his arms around her again, flatting his hands against her damp back. "Well, can you blame me? I'd been away for _four_months. That's a long time to go without a woman."

"Hm," she said mischievously. "So there were no other women, then?"

"I am offended by the suggestion."

"Well, you said yourself it was a long time – it must have been hard to cope."

Arthur stroked her lower back earnestly, "Then surely the voracity with which I took you to bed the moment I returned home is proof that I'd been starved of female company."

Gwen laid her head softly against his chest and smiled. The feeling of their love making had felt her with a warm, satisfied tingle in her body as well as an overwhelming confidence. She knew that Arthur would never _dream_of betraying her with another woman just as she would never do it with another man. She admitted that she sometimes felt a sense of insecurity when he had to go away and she didn't know whether he was safe, or how he would cope without her.

But except for small tugs of jealousy when other women attempted to charm Arthur with their wiles, Queen Guinevere had no fear whatsoever. Most of those womanly wiles went over Arthur's head anyway. She wasn't sure whether it was lack of interest or simple naivety. Either way he was _hers_ and hers _alone_.

She gently peeled back the loose material of his shirt and, with a quick motion, sucked hard on his collar bone. The movement surprised Arthur although she knew exactly what she was doing...

"Guinevere, why are you—?"

Gwen released the small section of his skin from her teeth and admired her work.

He asked her again, "Why did you—?"

She looked up at him coyly. "What? I'm just marking my territory."

Arthur pulled a somewhat amused face but did not counter what she said. Arthur actually felt a little amorous again, being marked as 'belonging' to her. There shouldn't have been any doubt, seeing as they were married – but why Gwen wore her wedding ring, Arthur wore numerous _visible_love bites on his body.

"What about you?" he asked. "Ever been tempted while I was away?"

Gwen looked up at him, "How could I? You take all the good-looking men with you."

"Very funny"

He knew she was only teasing and so he let the subject go. He trusted her more than he trusted God above him.

She chuckled, and sighed happily. "I'll never forget that night you came home, though..."

"I imagine you wouldn't," Arthur said, hold her fast.

It had been quite a long and lustful night as all the anticipation he had felt while riding home with the army had finally come to fruit. Even now the feeling of their hot, sweaty limbs pressed against each other as they came was fresh in his mind as did the way they held each other close afterwards, waiting for their recovery before they could do it again.

By the end of the battle against Odin (which, of course, Arthur had won) all the knights had gone so long without even seeing a woman that they were starting to find each other attractive! Arthur had managed to stave off it by pleasuring himself to the thought of his wife, but Leon was the only other knight who was married.

Before the final battle when sexual frustration was rife, Gwaine – who frankly wasn't fussed when it came to partners – had seemed perfectly happy to keep his fellow knights going until they got back to Camelot. Lancelot in particular had acted a little... odd, upon returning to Camelot. Although Gwen knew he had held a candle for her many years, she suspected _he_wasn't too fussed where he got his love from either.

Gwen giggled, "I didn't just mean _that_."

She looked up and cupped his cheek lovingly as she told her the other reason why she remembered it so clearly.

"That was the night you got me pregnant with Llacheu."

Arthur's mind sparked at the realisation. Of course any martial relations between a man and a woman could result in an infant, but that night he returned, they had done it several times, in several different imaginative positions. It had basically been a re-enactment of everything that had been buzzing around in their heads during their separation.

It would have been a surprise if Gwen had come out of it _without_getting pregnant.

He nodded, and smiled, "Of course, how silly of me to forget."

Gwen kissed his lips. He tilted her head slightly to deepen it and express the sweet adoration he had for her. She was his wife, his queen and the mother of his son. Even thinking of her in these most natural, and wonderful, roles made him want to kiss her and make love to her all the more.

She broke the kiss carefully, "We should go back to the castle..."

Yet she kissed him again, clearly not too keen to return back yet.

Arthur spoke in-between their lips meeting. "We will—in a minute—or two..."

And as if all strength had failed them once again, they collapsed back into fine hay.

* * *

><p>"Thank you Merlin for taking me with you," Llacheu said politely, in the matter than would have made his Mama proud.<p>

Merlin turned around and smiled as he carefully led the child along the large path through the forest. He had taken Llacheu out before in order to show him the forest. Everyone knew that his magic could be depended upon to protect the beloved prince, and Arthur and Gwen usually encouraged Merlin to show their son the little know interesting spots dotted about the castle grounds and in the forests... in order to get him out of their hair for an hour or so.

The warlock understood perfectly why. A king and a queen needed their 'alone time', lest Llacheu remain the only heir to the throne.

The little child kicked small twigs each time he came across them, picked up a thin, long branch that had come loose from a tree and used it to kick up the wood chips and draw lines in the sand.

"Where are Mama and Father?" Llacheu suddenly asked as they approached the cave Merlin wanted to show him. He smirked, which confused the young child a little. Merlin had a very good idea what Arthur and Gwen were doing; according to a couple of squires they closed the door to the new stables about an hour ago and hadn't emerged since.

He turned to look at the little prince.

"Your father is... showing your mother the new stable."

"Still?" the child said in surprised.

Merlin nodded, "Yep. Still."

"They've been very long!" Llacheu remarked, shaking his head.

"Yes, they have."

The warlock bit his lip, trying to find a good way to leave the prince off the subject. He didn't quite fancy having to explain the birds and the bees to a four-year-old. He wanted to leave that pleasure to Arthur... and hopefully watch his blushes from afar.

"Come along, wart!" Merlin said cheerfully, helping Llacheu over a narrow stream. "The cave isn't that far now..."

The prince followed his minder faithfully, and didn't ask a single question, nor did he wonder what his parents were doing, the rest of the way to the cave.


End file.
